The Most Unlikely Love
by Obi-Wan'sPadawan
Summary: FINALLY UPDATED! She's a senator, he's a Jedi. Can it work? And NO! I'm not talking about Anakin! OBIDALA
1. Chapter One

I'm back *readers sigh* and I have yet another experimental story for you! I've never done a story like this one before, so please don't right flames. 'Constructive critisism' not mean remarks that make me want to stop writing forever!  
  
  
  
  
Padme sat up abruptly, awakened by her dreams. She breathed heavily and clutched her swollen stomach. Her children, it seemed, could feel her terror and were kicking fiercely. She shakily stood up and pulled on a robe over her nightgown. She then made her way to the kitchen to get herself something cold to drink. She had just stepped into the high ceilinged mainroom when she heard the sound of soft breathing. She froze. She whirled around when she heard somthing tap on the glass of the lone window of the abode.  
  
Only to let out a sigh of relief. Up high on the windowsill was Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi must have fallen asleep while keeping guard. The tapping on the window had only been the Jedi's lightsaber hitting the glass as he moved. Padme smiled sadly. For four months Obi-Wan had watched out for her up there, almost never coming down. He was constantly on the lookout for anyone who might threaten her safety, be it thieves, stormtroopers, or her former husband, Anakin, now known as Darth Vader.  
  
Anakin had betrayed them both and turned to the dark side. Now the Jedi feared that, if discovered, the Skywalker twins may be in danger. They feared that Vader would either take the children and corrupt them with darkness, or that Palpatine would have them killed. Padme feared either possibilty equaly.  
  
She and Obi-Wan had fled to the mountanous Rim world of Dyego to hide from the Sith's evil. Their hideout was actually a hidden home, carved deep into a mountain cave. It had only one window to the outside world, which Obi-Wan was sitting in at the moment. Obi-Wan was forever on the watch for danger, as though his Jedi sense weren't enough.  
  
He had told Padme that he wasn't sure if he could trust his skills again. After all, it was those skills that failed Anakin and caused him to turn to the dark side. She had tried to tell him that that wasn't true, but he stopped listening. The loss of his Padawan had been a heavy blow to the young Jedi, but to have the Padawan return as a Sith was far too much. Obi-Wan blamed himself for Anakin's fall, and was convinced that there was something he could have done to prevent it. Often she would see him touch the scar on his forearm, the scar that Anakin's saber had delt in the battle that ended his life, and began Vader's. She knew then that he was reliving that moment, and would become very distant, but then again he was always distant.  
  
Padme watched him doze for a moment. He looked so peaceful and young. He was, actually, not very old. He was only thirty-seven. But the weight of what was happening seemed to fall on his shoulders, giving him a worn, tired look. At times, she would catch him smiling, caught up in a memory, and it would take off at least ten years.   
  
She smiled again and decided to let him sleep. He had refused to go to sleep for four days straight, so she knew that he needed the rest. But what bothered her was that he was sleeping twelve feet high, above a stone floor. She shook her head and continued to the kitchen. Obi-Wan could take care of himself. 


	2. Chapter Two

Ha! Just because I want to torture you so much, I'll give you another chapter! (I don't think it is THAT bad, but there are some really big critics of ALL Obidala stories. I personally, don't care. Obi-Wan deserves somebody.)  
  
  
Padme woke up the next morning to the sound of clinking dishes. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and swung her feet over the side of the bed. She hurriedly dressed as fast as she could in a simple, rather large, tunic. She wanted to be able to have a conversation with Obi-Wan eye-to-eye, not from twelve feet away. When she stepped out into the kitchen/eating area, Obi-Wan was seated at the small table with a bowl of breakfast nutrients. She smiled at him as she passed.  
  
"Good morning, Obi-Wan. Sleep well?"  
  
He smiled wryly at her, a look she rarely saw anymore. "You knew I fell asleep and didn't wake me. Why?"  
  
"You need the sleep. But I must say, you probably have a bad crick in the neck now."  
  
"A little one. But you should have woke me up."  
  
She sat down at the table across from him with a muja fruit. "No, Obi-Wan. I won't have you sacrifice your health for me. You are not to go without sleep for four days straight anymore. From now on, you will leave your post when it gets dark, eat supper with me, do whatever you want for a while, then you will sleep in your bed. Do you understand?"  
  
Obi-Wan frowned. "Night is when those with cruel intentions are most likely to strike."  
  
"I trust your senses, Obi-Wan." Obi-Wan began to shake his head. "I do! But if it bothers you so much, why don't you put your cot in my room? So if something goes in there, you will be able to sense and hear it."  
  
Obi-Wan stared at his cup of caf for a moment. "I don't know, Padme. I don't feel comfortable sleeping in your room."  
  
"It's better than your room. It is bigger, and it doesn't get freezing cold like yours does. Come on, Obi-Wan, there is a spare corner."  
  
"Why do you want me in there?"  
  
"So I know that you won't fall asleep on the window again, so I know you're close by, and so you feel more comfortable about your senses."  
  
The Jedi stared at her for a moment. Then he sighed. "Oh, alright. I'll move my cot into your room. But whenever you want me to leave, I'll leave."  
  
"Fair enough." *He's so sensitive to what I want,* she thought.  
  
Obi-Wan swirled his cup of caf around in his hands and Padme took a bite of her muja fruit. There was pure silence for a good few mintes. Then Obi-Wan sighed and stood up. "I guess I should go back to looking out."  
  
"No." Padme said quickly, but firmly. And before Obi-Wan could actually think, he found himself sitting back down.  
  
"Why, may I ask?"  
  
She sighed heavily. "Obi-Wan," she reached out and placed her hand on his," I need someone to talk to. With you always in that blasted window, I never get to talk to anyone. Sabe and Eritae come every now and then, but that's only to bring news and medical supplies. And some of the other Jedi sometimes stop in, once in a blue moon. I am a social person, Kenobi, I have to talk with somebody."  
  
Obi-Wan pursed his lips and looked away for a moment. Then he turned back to her and put his arms on the table. "Alright. What shall we talk about?"  
  
"Anakin."  
  
Obi-Wan stood up abruptly. "No!" He turned and snatched his cup from the table and began to walk away, but Padme called him back.  
  
"Obi-Wan, you can't hide from it forever. Maybe talking about it will help you get over it."  
  
"How can I get over it when the Padawan I failed is the second hand to the man who is dictating the galaxy?"  
  
"You didn't fail him, Obi-Wan. He chose his own path. Just like with Qui-Gon and Xanatos. As the teacher, you can only show him the way. Whether or not he sticks with it is up to him. Anakin chose the wrong path for himself. It was of no fault of yours."  
  
Obi-Wan looked away, suddenly looking so old and wise to her. "I wish it were that simple. If I had been a more alert teacher, I would have caught the signs of his fall earlier. Not when he was already engulfed by the dark side." He sighed. "I don't even know when it really started."  
  
"What?"  
  
"His fall to the lure of the dark side. I know he had always been at risk, but I never saw when it truely began."  
  
"When you were on Geonosis."  
  
Obi-Wan turned back to her. "Geonosis?"  
  
Padme nodded. "When you were searching on Geonosis, and we were on Tatooine. His mother died in his arms, and he felt he failed her. So...so he went out and killed every single Tusken Raider."  
  
Obi-Wan's mouth dropped. "He never told me about that." He turned away again and ran a hand through his hair. "Why didn't I notice? I knew his mother was dead, but I didn't know he had slipped then."  
  
"He felt really bad about it, but he said they deserved it." Now Padme looked away from Obi-Wan's blue gaze. "I should have said something to you, I know, but after that we were all a little uh...preoccupied after that."  
  
Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes we were. But that is the past, Padme. You needn't worry about that now."  
  
"Ha!" she exclaimed suddenly, startling the Jedi. "You tell me advice, but don't follow it yourself." When Obi-Wan gave her a confused look, she continued. "What you may or may not have done wrong with Anakin is in the past. What happened, happened. You should move on to the future and the now. But personally, Obi-Wan, I don't think you did anything wrong."  
  
The Jedi stared at her sadly for a moment before nodding. Then he walked out of the room, leaving her alone. She sat by herself for a few moments before walking out into the mainroom. She saw Obi-Wan digging through a small bag that was hidden in a corner. She then saw him pull a dark blue poncho on over his tunic.  
  
"Obi-Wan?" she ventured. He looked at her in reply. "Where are you going?"  
  
He shoved a shirt bag into the bag before responding. "We're getting too low on food here. With as much food as you eat nowadays, what we have won't last very long."  
  
"Excuse me," Padme put her fists on her hips. "I just so happen to be eating for three now."  
  
Obi-Wan smiled. "I know. I was joking." He slung a pouch over his shoulder. "I won't be gone long." With that, he turned and went to the back of the abode, to the secret exit, and hopped on the speeder bike. Padme watched his figure disappear into the distance and sighed. 


	3. Chapter Three

HA Ha! The Padawan is back! And I have another chapter for you! Oh, and thank you so much for reviewing, I really thought people would hate it sooo much. : ) (PLEASE read my story, Path of a Jedi and review it please! It is a story that I was planning on becoming a novel, but nobody reads it! I feel so bad...)  
  
  
DARTHTAQ: I'm sorry that you feel that way, although I think it is kinda dumb to hate someone over one story... But, I warned you that if you didn't like this kind of story, to NOT READ IT!!!! I will not be intimidated by your review!!!!  
  
  
Getting out feels good, Obi-Wan thought as he dodged yet another rock. He was a Jedi, and Jedi were usually very active. So being cooped up in a cave, no matter how large, was enough to drive even mild-mannered Obi-Wan Kenobi half crazy. He enjoyed the feel of the wind on his face, even though he felt bad about leaving Padme by herself. But they needed the food.  
  
Half and hour later he pulled the speeder up next to a small store in the nearest town, Terras. Terras was a dumpy little place, with space junk cluttering almost every part of the ground.  
  
He stepped inside and made his way to get what he needed. Then, as he was paying for the food, he noticed a group of men gathered around his bike. He stepped outside, tensed for action, and walked over to his vehicle. He was placing the bag of food into a storage compartment under the seat when one of the thugs stepped forward.  
  
"This your bike?" he asked.  
  
"Maybe," Obi-Wan answered, not even looking up.  
  
"It's nice." The thug stepped forward. "Very nice. I think I'd like to take it home with me."  
  
"Sorry." Obi-Wan lifted his leg to get onto the bike when someone grabbed him from behind and threw him to the ground. The others in the group burst out laughing. But much to their disappointment, Obi-Wan just stood up and brushed himself off. Thug number one walked right up to him, so that his nose was only an inch from the Jedi's.  
  
"Look, pal, I think it would be the healthiest choice for you to just get your groceries out of that bike, and walk back to wherever you came from. I'm taking the bike, whether you like it or not. But it will be so much easier for you if you just walk away. Last man who defended his hunk of metal died. Understand?"  
  
"I understand, but I can't let you have the bike."  
  
The thug reached over and grabbed the front of the Jedi's tunic, nearly lifting him off the ground. "Ok then. You want to do this the hard way?" The thug reared back his arm to punch the lights out of Obi-Wan, but his hand never made contact. Obi-Wan twisted out of his grasp, landed in a crouch, and delivered a kick at the man's knees. The man staggered and the other thugs went after the Jedi.  
  
He dodged one man's lunge, only to swing his fist at another man's face who had been on the side of him. Then he delivered a roundhouse kick to another man. All the thugs then decided to tackle the Jedi, and so they did. He fell to the ground in a tangle of bodies but was being held by the arms when he got up. He saw the first thug coming at him with a crude knife and decided to get out of there. He slammed the heel of his boot into one man's foot, then hit the other in the face with the back of his hand. He was turning back around when he felt a searing pain across his face.  
  
He instinctively put his hand on his face, and it came away with blood. Thug number one was standing in front of the Jedi, holding the now bloody knife in his hand, laughing. Obi-Wan surprised him by recovering in seconds and kicking the knife out of his hand and catching it in his own. He pointed it at the man while trying to back up to get to his speederbike. A native Dyegan thug suddenly appeared next to the first thug with a metal pole in his hand. He took a running lunge at Obi-Wan, who easily somersaulted over him. When the Dyegan began using it like a sword, Obi-Wan then found his own pole and held it up like he would his lightsaber.  
  
The Dyegan laughed. "You think you can beat me, puny human? I have studied for years how to use things as a sword. You are no match for me." Then he pressed the attack.  
  
The fight, Obi-Wan thought, compared to the time when he had to participate in a duel with Jedi students at the Temple. Eleven, twelve year-old children who were not yet Padawans. Each blow the Dyegan tried was easily blocked by the skilled Jedi Knight who once defeated a Sith Lord.   
  
After a few moments, the Dyegan began to panic. How could this human be so talented at dueling? It was almost as if the man knew what he was going to do before he did it. He began to get very sloppy, which is what allowed Obi-Wan to finish him without injuring him.  
  
The Dyegan slipped once on a loose rock and fell to one knee, leaving his neck vulnarable. Obi-Wan struck it with his weapon hard enough to knock him out, but not enough to kill him. When the Dyegan crumpled to the ground, the rest of the gang panicked and ran. They had expected an easy steal, not a fight.  
  
Obi-Wan threw down the pole in disgust and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his tunic. He stepped around the unconsious being and mounted the bike, then began the journey back to the hideout, holding his sliced cheek together with one hand. 


	4. Chapter Four

Here you go. Yet another chapter. And don't worry, flamers only make me want to write more! Heehee...  
  
  
Padme heard Obi-Wan return after being gone for more than an hour. He sounded rushed. She went to greet him, but he practically threw the bags onto the counter and headed into the 'fresher. She frowned, knowing that he didn't have to go that bad.  
  
Obi-Wan immediately looked in the mirror when he closed the door. The knife had slashed a nice, deep wound right across his cheek, and was bleeding profusely. Blood had also dried around the area, and some had somehow gotten in his hair. He frowned at the reflection and began running water to clean himself off. He was searching the 'fresher for a small towel when the door opened.  
  
He almost jumped out of his skin when Padme stepped inside. She gaped at his face while he gaped at her boldness to come into the 'fresher when someone else was in there.  
  
"P..Padme! Wha...whatt are you doing?" he stammered.  
  
"What happened to you?" she asked instead of answering.  
  
"Just a fight." He began to resume his search for a towel but she grabbed his chin and look at the wound.  
  
"It's pretty deep, Obi-Wan. What did it?"  
  
"A knife." He tried to pull away so he could wash it, but she held on almost painfully hard.  
  
"Who did it to you Obi-Wan? Are we in danger now?"  
  
The Jedi sighed. "It was a group of punks, ok? All they wanted was the speeder bike, but I didn't let them have it. So they thought that I was an easy hit, so they attacked me. That's all. So, no, I don't believe we're in any danger."  
  
"Oh good. I was afraid that maybe it was a spy of Anaki...uh, Vader's."  
  
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. Just punks." He then had to sit still for a good half hour while she cleaned out the wound. He tried many times to get her to sit down and let him do it, but she insisted, painfully at times. A few times when he tried to make her sit down, she wound tighten her grip on his chin, causing more pain for him. She wasn't trying to be mean, she just wanted him to stay put and to stop telling her what to do.  
  
Finally, it was cleaned, disinfected, and covered to her satisfaction, she let him get up. He nodded in thanks to her and then took off and took his usual spot up on the window, where he stayed until dark.  
  
Obi-Wan was awakened later that night by the sound of someone crying. He snapped his head up, only to hit it on the wall. He had once again fallen asleep in the window. He jumped down silently and crept into Padme's room. Padme was alone, curled up as best she could in a fetal position. Obi-Wan relaxed slightly; he had thought someone had gotten in. He walked up beside her bed and squatted by the side, so he could see her eye to eye.  
  
"Padme," he began, "what's wrong?"  
  
She wiped her eyes and put her hand on top of his. "Anakin. I had a dream about Anakin. How he used to be, not how he is now. He used to be so good, so kind. And we were so happy." She began to cry again.  
  
He placed his hand on the side of her face. "Keep those memories, Padme. That should be Anakin as you remember him." He smiled sadly. "Things will get better. They have to. But for now, you should rest. Please try."  
  
He began to stand up to go back to his post but she reached out and grabbed his hand. "No! Don't go. Please, Obi-Wan. Could you stay here with me? Until I fall asleep? Please?"  
  
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say no, but stopped before the word even formed on his tongue. He could see her fear and desperation as he looked at her. He nodded and sat back down. She smiled, grasped his hand, and closed her eyes. 


	5. Chapter Five

Here you people go again. This chapter is a little different, but it keeps it interesting and not boring. It's not JUST a romance kinda fic. But please read, enjoy (hopefully) and NICELY review.  
  
  
  
Padme turned once, then opened her eyes. It was morning. She yawned once and turned her head to Obi-Wan's cot, but he wasn't there. In fact, the blanket had never even been moved. She sighed, figuring he had once again slept in the window. She rolled over to get up when she saw him.  
  
He was sitting beside her bed, with one hand still laying on it. He had fallen asleep soon after she had, and had just slept sitting up, hand curled as if she were holding it still. She smiled and stepped off the bed and sat down beside the sleeping Jedi.  
  
She liked to watch him sleeping. Sleep seemed to take off the years that the Sith's rise, the Jedi purge, and his failure put upon him. He also seemed so peaceful. Obi-Wan had been her greatest friend since Anakin had turned to evil. He had always been there for her, and always would be.  
  
She brushed a stray piece of hair from his face and began to stand up. But she stopped. Something was wrong with him. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew. She leaned closer to his face and tilted his head up with her hand. He groaned in his sleep and laid it back on his arm. Then Padme noticed that he was breathing very, very fast. She placed her palm on his cheek and realized, for the first time, that he seemed to be burning up.  
  
She began to panic. Something was very wrong with him, something more than a cut cheek. "Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan, wake up!" She lightly tapped his good cheek.  
  
His eyes slowly fluttered open and he mumbled incoherently. Then he stirred and instictively tried to rise, only to fall heavily against her bed. She grasped his arm and pushed him onto her bed. Once he was completely on it, she had to sit down for a moment.   
  
She regained her strength and went back up to him. She undid the top of his tunic, finding his skin was still burning hot. She frowned; this was no fever. She was going to find some medicine when he grabbed her hand suddenly.  
  
"Wha..what...," he gasped in ragged breaths, "did...you put...on that cut...yesterday?"  
  
"Just some disinfectants, Obi-Wan. Why?"  
  
"What exactly...did you put on it?"  
  
"Um, morphine, dexanadrine, hanodin, curloc-"  
  
"Hanodin! I can't...have that. I'm allergic...to it. Deathly allergic."  
  
Padme's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh no! What can I do? What will happen to you?"  
  
"If...you don't get the...antidose for it... then I have about 24 hours left...until the antidose will be...useless. Then it all...goes downhill from there."  
  
"What will happen between that time? You can barely breath right now, and before you were kind of delerious."  
  
"I'm afraid...it will only get...worse. I don't know...exactly what happens. The last time...I had hanodin was...in the Temple when I was...five. The medics...always warned me...afterward never to use it."  
  
Padme looked like she was about to cry, but kept it in. She scrambled to the where all their medical supplies were, and found a syringe. She put in it a medicine that was suppossed to clean out the blood, but she wasn't sure if it would work on the hanodin. By the time she got back to the Jedi, he was already out cold again. She injected the syringe into his neck and hoped for the best. She noticed he was shivering, despite the fever, so she covered him up with the blanket.  
  
She rushed into the mainroom afterwards and found his holo communicator. She set the frequency to that of her former handmaidens, Sabe and Eritae. It seemed to take forever before they accepted the transmissions.  
  
Minute, one-foot tall images of the handmaidens appeared. And when they saw who was calling them, their mouths practically flew open. "Padme!" Sabe exclaimed. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine, Sabe. But Obi-Wan, I'm afraid, is not."  
  
Sabe's hand flew to her mouth. Padme knew that she had always had a thing for the Jedi. "Oh no! What's wrong? What can we do?"  
  
"Have you heard of a disinfectant called hanodin?"  
  
Eritae nodded. "Yes. It is really good for deep cuts. Why?"  
  
"Do you know what the antidose is called?"  
  
"Did he use too much or something?"  
  
Padme shook her head. "No. It's my fault. He's deathly allergic to it. And I...I used it on a cut of his."  
  
Sabe turned away and began sifting through some flimsi out of the range of the holo camera. "Ah! Here it is. Joipuk. The antidose for hanodin. Use only for overdose or accidental usage. Is that what you need?"  
  
"Does it get it out of his system?"  
  
"It says it does."  
  
"Good. How fast can you and Eritae get here?"  
  
"Sabe and I are currently on Naboo. We can get there in approximatly 22 hours." Eritae answered.  
  
"That is with a fast ship hauling butt." Sabe added.  
  
"Please try! He says he only has about 24 hours left until the antidose won't do anything." She paused. "I'm afraid. He's one of the only friends I have left."  
  
Sabe nodded sadly. "We will try as hard as we can."  
  
Padme smiled sadly. "The Jedi have a saying. 'Do or do not, there is no try.' "  
  
"Then we will do. Sabe out. And good luck, Padme." The transmission was cut off, leaving Padme standing by herself, staring at an empty wall.  
  
She sighed and went back to Obi-Wan. He was still out, and look like he had no intention of ever waking up. She sat on the edge of the and pushed a strand of hair from his face.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Obi-Wan. So sorry. I didn't know, but I should have asked you." She said as she absently stroked his hair. She looked down at her hand and saw the ring that Anakin gave her was still on her finger. She stared at it a moment before slowly taking it off her finger.  
  
She stared at it for a moment in her hand, before throwing it across the room. Anakin was truly dead to her now. She was a widow, a pregnant widow. She looked down at Obi-Wan. "A pregnant widow who's only friend is dying because of her."  
  
She grasped his hand, and sat that way for the longest time. Suddenly he began to toss and turn, wretching his hand out of hers. He began to breath very fast and began to mumble.  
  
"Anakin! No...failed...Qui-Gon...twins...Skywalker...Padme..." He rolled over violently, slamming his hand into the corner of the nightstand. If he felt the pain in his reverie, he showed no signs. The table cut his hand, and it began to bleed. Padme rushed and found a spare scrap of cloth, which she wrapped around Obi-Wan's new wound.  
  
She sat with him more, lost in her own thoughts. Again he began to toss and turn in his slumber. She placed her hand on Obi-Wan's forehead and began to try to comfort him. "Shhh. Obi-Wan, it's alright. I'm still here and the twins are still here. We'll be fine. Shhh." She absently looked up at the chrono; eighteen hours left. 


	6. Chapter Six

Here is another chapter for you people! I hope you like this one too. And please, if you review, ESPECIALLY a bad review where you say it is gross, put a name so that I may complain about you! I know that I'm bound to get bad reviews on this story, as it is a very contreversial topic. (though I don't see exactly why it is THAT contreversial...)  
  
  
  
Eight hours left, Padme thought to herself. She had finally fallen asleep a few hours after calming Obi-Wan. He was still now; so still that it scared her. Only the gentle rise and fall of his chest let her know that he was alive. She sat by his side always, only leaving it to do things that needed done, like eating and using the 'fresher. He had begun to sweat badly, and she took a cool, moist cloth and placed it on his forehead.   
  
  
Four hours left until I lose the only friend I have, she thought again. Obi-Wan was sinking deeper and deeper away from her. He hadn't awakened since two hours earlier, and even that was just a delirious few moments. Her eyes began to tear. *How could I let this happen to him?* she wondered. *He's not supposed to die, he just can't*. She stood up and walked out of the room, feeling the need to cry. She did so, then found herself staring up at his window. She then felt the sudden urge to climb up there, but resisted it. Instead, she went to the kitchen to fix herself a snack. She sighed as she sat and began to eat the food, which she did not even taste. She couldn't help but think that she would go back in that room and find Obi-Wan dead.   
  
She finished her snack and reluctantly went back into her room. Obi-Wan was in the same state she had left him in, but it did not reassure her. She suddenly found herself very tired so she went to his cot on the floor. She groaned as she lowered herself onto it, but fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the thin pillow.  
  
She was awakened by someone gently shaking her. She groaned and wrenched her eyes open. "Obi-Wan?" she asked groggily.  
  
"No, Padme. We're here. It's Sabe!"  
  
"Sabe!" Padme sat up as fast as she could, resulting in a dizzy spell. Eritae helped her to her feet, then supported her.  
  
"We already gave the antidose to Obi-Wan, m'lady. All we can do now is wait." Eritae said.  
  
"How long did it take you to get here?"  
  
"Only about twenty hours. We found a pilot with a very fast ship, much faster than we thought possible. He did cost a lot though."  
  
Padme smiled sadly. "I will repay you. But thank you for coming."  
  
"You don't have to repay us, Padme. It was the least we could do after all the Jedi have done for us." Sabe said.  
  
Padme nodded, then turned to Eritae, who was still supporting her. "I want to see him."  
  
"There is no difference yet, m'lady. It may be a few hours before anything is evident." Eritae answered.  
  
Padme sighed. "Very well then." She turned to her former handmaidens. "Thank you, with all my heart."  
  
Sabe smiled. "No problem, m'lady." She turned and looked at Eritae for a moment. "Though I am also terribly sorry." She looked down at the floor.  
  
Padme looked from her to Eritae. "What? What has happened?"   
  
Eritae studied the floor before turning back to Padme. "They found your mother."  
  
Padme held back a gasp. "My mother? What have they done to her?"  
  
"She was caught in a group of people supporting the Republic. She was captured, but the others were...they were lined up and shot."  
  
Padme looked at the ground as well, tears welling up in her eyes. "Is she alive?"  
  
Eritae shook her head. "I don't know."  
  
Padme nodded and walked into her room. Sabe started after her, but Eritae laid a hand on her arm. "No. Let her deal with it on her own. I fear we may do more harm than good."  
  
"How could comfort not do good for her?"  
  
"She'll find comfort. Now come, help me get the rest of the supplies from the ship." 


	7. Chapter Seven

Here is another chapter for those who care! I hope you like this one.  
  
DARTHTAQ: You are a friggin' PSYCHO!! I gave a Obidala warning and yet you continue to read and write stupid things on MY review page! And what do you think fanfiction really is? STUFF FROM OUR DREAMS AND IMAGINATIONS!! I really wish you would stop writing all of this dumb $hi+ on my review page. LET THE PEOPLE READ WHAT THEY WANT TO READ AND LEAVE PEOPLE'S PREFERENCES ALONE! AND OBI-WAN RULES!!!  
  
Ok, now that I am slightly done venting, THANKS! to all who wrote NICE and HELPFUL reviews. :)  
  
  
  
Padme stepped into her room and immediatley sank to the floor. She wanted to cry, wanted to let everyone know how sad she was, but she didn't. She didn't know why, she just would not allow herself to cry. Instead she buried her face in her hands for a long while. Then she slowly stood up and went beside the bed to check on Obi-Wan.   
  
What she saw made her smile. His fever seemed to have gone significantly down, and he seemed to be more comfortable. She grasped his hand, then turned to the floor to hide a tear. *So,* she thought, *maybe he will be fine.* She looked up at him again, and looked straight into a pair of blue eyes.  
  
She smiled. "Obi-Wan!" She smoothed out his ragged hair. "You're alright!"  
  
He smiled. "Yeah. I guess so," he answered in a groggy and raspy voice.  
  
She continued to smile, then surprised them both when she gathered him into a hug. She literally pulled him up and into her arms. It took a moment for him to get over the shock of what she had just done before he hugged her in return.  
  
He patted her back. "It's alright. I'll be fine now." She pulled away and he saw tears on her cheeks. He frowned slightly and wiped them away with his hand. "Padme? There's more to this, isn't there?"  
  
She nodded. "My mother. They got my mother."  
  
His expression turned sympathetic. "Padme...I'm sorry." He could find nothing else to say. He still wasn't completely well, and he was already getting tired again.  
  
"It's alright, Obi-Wan. It's not your fault."  
  
He suddenly looked very sad. "But it is. I helped create the monster."  
  
"You did not!" she said, a fire in her eyes. "I've told you before. What happened is not your fault. Palpatine and Anakin chose their own path. You had nothing to do with it. I told you only a few days ago, too."  
  
He nodded. "I see, but I do not believe."  
  
"In time, Obi-Wan, I hope you will." She smiled and ran her hand over his hair, smoothing it down again. "I'm just happy you are going to be alright. Do you know how scared I was?"  
  
"No, but I can imagine." He turned his head to the closed door. "Who's here?"  
  
"Sabe and Eritae. They had to bring the antidose for me. They got here just in time."  
  
"I don't remember time passing. I had dreams, but I can't remember them either." He shook his head. "But if I had a fever, they wouldn't be dreams that I would want to remember."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"I believe that your biggest fears come out when you are dreaming. And if you are ill, it only makes it worse." He laughed quietly. "Or at least that's what I think."  
  
She smiled. "I don't know for sure." She watched him for a second as he closed his eyes. He opened them again a moment later, obviously with effort. She laid her hand on his. "Go back to sleep, Obi-Wan. You need it. I'll be fine. I'm with friends."  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes again. This time, he didn't open them again. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest for a moment before getting up. She walked back out to the main room, giving him one more glance. She smiled, then turned to see Sabe watching her. Sabe smiled and slowly walked away. Padme watched her go with a confused look, then turned back into her room, her thoughts suddenly occupied by her mother.  
  
She sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, watching Obi-Wan sleep once more. He groaned and rolled over in his sleep, turning his back to her. She smiled and set a hand on his shoulder. Tears welled up in her eyes as a thought of what could be happening to her mother hit her. She wiped her eyes, but still felt the pain. She stared at Obi-Wan for a moment before laying down beside him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She couldn't explain why she did it, but she didn't want to get back up again. Something about being next to him calmed her.  
  
"Jedi..." she thought as she dropped off to sleep. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Haven't given up on this one yet, either. So sorry I'm taking so long to update. And yes, I am ignoring all of the stupid comments made by people too afraid to even sign a name on the review page.

Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes, only to close them again at the harsh light that fell on his face. He groaned and opened them again. He tried to sit up, but realized that someone was clutching his shoulders. He turned his head and saw Padme laying beside him.

He looked at her, completely confused. "Eh?" he said as he pried her arms from his shoulders. She sighed and opened her eyes. She stared at his confused face for a moment before sitting up, her face bright red.

She sat up quickly. "Obi-Wan! I'm sorry." She quickly scrambled to her feet.

He sat up slowly. "What...what were you doing?"

She nervously pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I...I was thinking about my mother and..I ...wanted someone to comfort me. I don't know why...I did that. But I was just so sad and I needed someone by me."

He looked away for a moment, then looked back at her, uncertainty written all over his face. "I don't really know what to say."

"There is nothing to say. I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I mean..." He stopped, completely at a loss for what to say. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. Then he shakily stood up. He almost fell from the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him, but managed to stay up. Padme watched him with tears welling in her eyes. Obi-Wan felt part of his heart melt. "Padme..."

She turned away. "I know. I shouldn't do things like that. I shouldn't get to attached to anything or anyone." She looked back at him. "That's what I've been told my whole life."

Obi-Wan looked at her, his confusion only more evident. "That's not...I mean...you shouldn't...ARG!" He turned away for a moment, frustrated at his inability to say what he wanted to say. He turned back to her and gestured with his hand. "I'm going to go and...um...think about some stuff now. OK? Yeah. Good." He turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Obi-Wan! Are you sure you're alright?"

He nodded, even though he was feeling faint and had sweat beaded up on his forehead. "Yeah. I'll be fine. You just...uh...go back to sleep." He felt like smacking himself on the head, but waited until her door was shut behind him to do it.

He found his ladder, and climbed back up to his spot in the window. It felt to him that two forces were waging battle within his soul. One side was the side of him the kept completely to the Code. The other side, well, not even he could tell what side that was. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass.

He tried to think about something else, but he kept feeling her arms around him. The comfort he felt in her embrace. Like everything was going to be alright...

He shook his head violently, trying desperately to clear it. He was a Jedi. He was assigned to protect her. Even more, he had been her husband's Master! He was too old for her, too committed to the Jedi, he could think of a million reasons why he shouldn't follow his feelings in this matter.

He stopped his thoughts in their tracks. _Feelings? What are my feelings?_ He closed his eyes; he knew what he felt. And it was the last thing he'd ever expected to feel for her, the conniving Senator from Naboo. _No, she's not conniving._ He stared out of the window for a moment, going back to an earlier thought. With the million reasons that this was all wrong, there was one that said it was right. The way he felt when she held him, and the comfort. That was the only thing that said it was right.

He sighed and looked out of the window. His head was a confusing jumble of thoughts. The war raging in his soul seemed to be coming to an end, though even he wasn't sure which side was winning. Give in to his heart? Or remain the detached Jedi he was supposed to?


	9. Chapter Nine

Meanwhile, Padme sat by herself in her room, confused. She knew that she had had no reason to do that, no reason at all. But at the moment she had laid next to him, it felt as if all her problems had vanished. There was just comfort and security. 

She closed her eyes and thought about Anakin. Was he alive? Did he even know that he was going to be a father? Did he care? All of the uncertainty was probably the worst thing to happen to her. She closed her eyes against tears, thinking of her children. How could they live, knowing that Darth Vader was their father? Or should they even know? What kind of life could they have with her, always being on the run. No father figure to teach them...

__

Obi-Wan could teach them... Padme gave a start. _Where had that thought come from?_ she wondered. She shook her head, but the possibility still stuck in her head. _He would be a wonderful father figure to the children. Full of goodness and kindness..._

Padme shook her head again. There was no possible way that Obi-Wan could be the children's father figure. A mother and father should be together, and having their father figure not married or with their mother could just confuse the children. _You and Obi-Wan could--_ Padme stopped the thought before it even finished. Why did she worry about this so? Things would turn out alright. They always had before.

Suddenly feeling very hungry, she slowly made her way to the small kitchen. She caught sight of Obi-Wan long before he saw her. So she stood, watching him, for a moment.

He sat in his usual chair at the table, munching on something in a bowl. He didn't even seem to realize that he was eating, his eyes had such a far away look. He seemed to snap out of it every now and then, only to become lost in thought again moments later. Padme sighed and walked past him quickly, reaching for something to eat.

She suddenly felt his eyes on her and turned to face him. He quickly looked away, down to the food in the bowl. _Well that was stupid,_ he thought to himself as he continued to munch the food, but not taste it. She proceeded to pour herself a bowl of something, then she sat across the table from Obi-Wan. A quick flash of blue told her that he had glanced up at her, but it was only a fleeting glance.

Trying to break the very awkward silence, she cleared her throat. "So, are you feeling alright today? I hope the Hanodin is gone and there are no after-effects."

He nodded absently. "I'm fine. Feels like I'm light-headed, but otherwise I feel normal. Except for the sleepiness," he added.

She nodded. "Good. I'm glad you're going to be ok."

He flashed her a smile. "What kind of guardian would I be if I were dead?"

She shook her head. "Not a very good one," she said, though her disappointment at his answer showed.

He heard the disappointment and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you want me to say."

"I wasn't worried about you not being there to be my guardian. I was talking about you being here as my friend."

"And maybe something more," he added, filling in what she had decided not to say. He shook his head when she looked up at him. "No. We can't do that. Think about it, Padme. Look at the mess we are both in. You're the former wife of a Sith Lord, pregnant with the children he must never find. And I...I am a disgraced Jedi, whose failure brought this whole mess about."

Padme placed her hand on his, then grew angry when he pulled away and stood up. "You are selfish, did you know that?" He turned to her, confused. "All you can think about is how you supposedly failed Anakin. You can't think about me!"

He looked up at her, confusion written all over his face. "I...I don't understand. I do think about you."

She shook her head and moved closer to him. "Not enough." Ignoring his attempts to stop her, she reached forward and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him then, still ignoring his protests, which seemed to fade away rapidly. She pulled away after a moment and looked into his eyes. She was surprised to see such look of fear, vulnerability, guilt, and sadness in his eyes. She hadn't though Jedi were capable of feeling all of that. There was something else as well. A longing. A longing long pushed back. Despite all Obi-Wan Kenobi could say, all he wanted was to be loved, and to return that feeling.


	10. Chapter Ten

Obi-Wan stared at Padme for a moment, his eyes wide. Padme had to keep herself from laughing at his bewildered look. She knew that no one had ever surprised him that much before, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime expression on his face. She smiled at him and patted his cheek.

"You look so cute. Wish I had a holo-camera."

He blinked a few times, then put a hand to his lips. "Padme..."

She laughed again. "Don't tell me you've never been kissed before! A man like you? No way."

"I have," he said defensively. "Just not like that."

"How?"

"So suddenly."

Padme said nothing, just stared at the Jedi with a small smile on her face. Then she got serious as pulled up a chair next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly under her touch, but soon forced himself to relax. She patted his shoulder. "I can see it, Kenobi."

"See what?"

"What you try to hide. I see how you feel about me. You just hide it. Bury it so deep within you. Like you're afraid. What are you afraid of? It's alright to love."

Obi-Wan turned away from her for a moment and stared at the wall. Then he slowly turned back and stared at the table. He closed his eyes, and when he spoke, his voice sounded weary. "I'm afraid to love, I guess. Everything, everyone, that I've loved have had something bad happen to them. Like Cerasi. I loved her, and she was killed. Bant, I loved as a sister. She was murdered. I loved Siri, but she was also murdered." The Jedi took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, he sounded as if his voice was about to break. "Qui-Gon...Qui-Gon was like a father to me. I loved him as my father, but he was killed. And Anakin, I loved as a son."

Padme scooted closer to him, her heart breaking for the Jedi who had lost everything. "And you lost him, as well. You loved your Order, and it is also gone." Obi-Wan nodded, then wiped the back of his hand across his face. His hand came away wet; he was crying.

Padme wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan's shoulders. Then he surprised her by turning and burying his face in her shoulder, crying uncontrollably. She hugged him tightly.

"It'll be all right, Obi-Wan. They weren't your fault. You've just had an unlucky life. It'll be all right. We'll be ok."

She continued this for a long time. Finally she no longer heard of felt him cry. She looked down at him, and was surprised to see that he had fallen asleep. She smiled softly, wondering how it was that an emotional episode could wear someone out so quickly.


	11. Chapter Eleven

****

Yes, I'm back. Writer's block is gone, so I'm updating older stuff. Enjoy.

And to answer a question, no, I don't believe anyone has killed off Bant or any of Obi-Wan's friends yet in published works. This is all just my speculation. 

Padme found Obi-Wan the next morning, back in his window spot. He was staring out as he usually did, but something was very different this time. The first thing she noticed was the intense look on his face, as if something had caught his attention. He was also very tense, his hands clenched into fists by his side.

She carefuly approached and stared up at him. "Obi-Wan? What is it?"

He glanced down at her quickly, then turned his attention back to the wind. "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

"Feel it how?"

"The Force has shifted. It's changed. Something's very wrong." He closed his eyes for a long time, not moving at all. Finally, some time later, his eyes snapped open. "Sithspawn!" he exclaimed.

This startled Padme. "What? What is it?"

"Literally sithspawn! Vader is here!" Obi-Wan said before leaping down from the ledge. He sidestepped Padme, who had her hand clamped over her mouth, and rushed into her bedroom. When she finally got over her shock, she followed and found him throwing things into a bag, mostly medicine and a few clothing articles. He looked up at her as he closed the bag. "We have to leave, now. If we stay, Vader will find us."

"What will he do to us?"

"He'll kill me, for sure. You, I'm not so sure about. He might keep you alive long enough to have the children, then he may kill you. Or he may keep you alive. I have no idea."

"Why would he kill you for sure?" Padme asked dumbly.

Obi-Wan looked up at her with a surprised expression. "Why do you think?" he asked angrily, more out of panic than anger. "I'm the one he hates. I represent his past. I am the Jedi he has not managed to kill yet!"

"Obi-Wan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry."

He stepped toward her, holding out a hand. "It's all right. I'm just a little...panicked right now."

She nodded. "Yeah. Where will we go?"

"Luckily, the Jedi planned ahead for this," he said, stepping past her. She quickly followed him. As he walked briskly through the small hovel, he continued to speak to her. "In the event that your security here was compromised, we were to escape through a back way, only accessible to a Jedi. We're to go to the bottom of a gully, and there should be a ship there, if nothing's happened to it. We'll have to use that to get off planet and to the rendezvous point."

"I didn't know there was a back way, or a ship waiting for us."

"That's because it was a secret." He stopped in front of a wall and set the bags down. He walked closer to the wall and stuck his palm on it. "General Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said calmly. From somewhere within the wall, Padme heard a beep, then the whole wall began to rise, revealing a passage way.

"Wow," she said.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "C'mon. We don't have time to dawdle. Vader could have already sensed us." He grasped her hand and lead her into the passageway. The wall fell back into place behind them, leaving them in pitch black. It didn't seem to bother Obi-Wan, however. He seemed to know right where he was going. 

Finally Padme saw a light, and knew that they were almost outside. Obi-Wan didn't slow down, he just kept tugging on her hand to go faster. Finally they reached the end of the tunnel. In front of them, spanning for miles, was nothing but red desert with jagged cliffs.

"Padme," Obi-Wan said softly. She turned to face him. He had a mixture of fear and defiance on his face. "The ship is about a mile from here. We have to get you there, no matter what."

"Obi-Wan..." she said, reading behind the lines.

"Right. If anything happens to me, don't look back. Just go. You've been in ships before, and this one is really simple to fly. It also has an autopilot, so you can't go wrong."

"I can't leave without you," she said, trying to touch his face.

He turned away. "You must. Your life, and the lives of your children, are far more important than mine." He began to walk again. "Now come. We have to get to that ship as fast as we can."

Padme fell silent as she followed the Jedi, thoughts a jumble in her mind. She felt very confused. She had thought that she and Obi-Wan had had something, but now it seemed as if he were as distant as the first time she met him, all those years ago. Then again, he was very afraid, though he wouldn't admit it. Maybe he felt that if he pushed away any excess feelings, he wouldn't make such a big impression in the Force, making it easy for Vader to find him.

After a long while, Obi-Wan touched her shoulder. "Padme." She turned to him and he pointed ahead of them. Just ahead of them was a sudden drop in the terrain. "The ship's down there. C'mon."

She followed him, and they climbed slowly down the gully. It was a slow process, especially with Padme being pregnant. They were about halfway down when Obi-Wan heard the sound of a ship flying overhead. He froze and stared up at the sky. He could now see the ship, flying towards them at an alarming speed.

"No!" he shouted to himself and frantically began scanning the cliff wall. He spotted a small fissure in the wall and pointed to it. "Padme! Get in there! Now!"

She nodded, not questioning him, and made her way to it as fast as she could. When she got to it, she squeezed inside and waited.

Obi-Wan continued to stare up at the sky as the ship neared. He knew they must have spotted him by now, because they were circling. Finally it stopped and hovered above him, the thrusters blowing sand into the Jedi's face. A rope appeared below it, and a black figure began to slide down it. Obi-Wan was reaching for his lightsaber when the figure slammed into him, knocking him from the side.

The Jedi fell a good ways before he was able to use the Force to help him grasp the wall again, and keep from splattering on the ground, which was mere feet away now. He activated his saber as he leapt to the ground. The black figure leapt after him, activating a red saber.

"I've been looking for you, old friend," a menacing mechanical voice said from behind the mask.

"How touching. And all this time I've been staying away from you," Obi-Wan answered, adopting a defensive posture.

Vader laughed. "It seems that you can't even do that right." Anger surged up it Obi-Wan, but he managed to suppress it. Vader laughed again. "I felt it, Obi-Wan. Further proof that even the last Jedi Master is not perfect."

"No one's perfect. Not even you, Anakin. You were never perfect."

Vader swung his saber threateningly. "Anakin no longer exists. A more powerful being has replaced him." Vader laughed, and Obi-Wan could almost imagine him smiling behind the mask. "I thought about asking you to join me, but I knew it was futile. You're too wrapped up in your weakling ways to change, despite any anger you may possess. You could have been a great ally."

"But you know that I would never join you. Never."

"Yes, I know you all too well. But that is in the past. This is now. And now, we will settle this. Once and for all." Vader lunged.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Obi-Wan jumped backwards, parrying Vader's blow with his lightsaber. They traded swings for a few moments before breaking apart. They began to circle each other for a moment.

"You could never defeat me, Obi-Wan. I was always better than you," Vader said, trying to distract the Jedi.

"You were too arrogant, Vader. Too wrapped up in yourself. You are not the greatest Jedi ever."

"You're right about that. I'm far more than just a Jedi."

"Right, you're a Sith lord," Obi-Wan spat. "The scum of the galaxy."

Vader replied with a lunge at the Jedi's throat. Obi-Wan stepped nimbly aside and parried the blow before waltzing to Vader's other side. Vader turned to face him, and Obi-Wan could feel the anger radiating from him. It was nauseating. 

"Where is she?" Vader asked, swinging his saber portentously.

"Where's who?" Obi-Wan asked, beginning to circle Vader again.

"You know very well who. Padme, my wife."

Obi-Wan smiled uncharacteristically cynically. "_Your_ wife? Padme was the wife of Anakin Skywalker. But as you said, Anakin no longer exists, so how can he have a wife?"

A fresh surge of hate radiated from Vader, but Obi-Wan also felt a bit of regret. "You're right, you know," Vader said, his voice softening almost unobtrusively. "She was the wife of Anakin Skywalker. But it's not her that I want. It's the child she carries within her. And although he too may be of Anakin Skywalker, I've come to claim him."

A wave of anger ran through Obi-Wan. "And what would you do with him? Turn him, use him? Do you think the Emperor would allow him to live? Do you believe that the Emperor would allow a Skywalker to live? No! He would kill the child the first chance he got." Obi-Wan shifted his saber, pointing it to the ground. "Even Vader could not be that cold-hearted."

Vader stepped toward him, pointing his saber to the ground as well. "And what would you do with the child, Obi-Wan Kenobi? Train him in your foolish Jedi ways? Raise him to someday kill me and bring the Jedi back to power?"

"I would never use a child like that."

"Like you used me? You thought you could train the great 'chosen one'. And doing that would forever have the Council eating out of your hand."

"I trained you because it was Qui-Gon's dying wish!" Obi-Wan shouted.

This put Vader off for a moment, but he soon recovered and lunged again. This time he fought with a fever, wishing for nothing more than to rid the galaxy of the one man who could make him regret his decision. The one man who had ever truly tried to understand him. The only man who could make him feel guilty.

The intensity of Vader's attack startled Obi-Wan, and he was barely able to block some of Vader's blows. Obi-Wan slipped on a loose rock and nearly fell to the ground and was barely able to catch himself. He felt a searing pain across his arm and stumbled into a cliff wall. He looked down at his arm. A large gash worked its way now across his arm, blurring his vision with the pain. Vader stepped back with his saber raised, exuberated at the fact that he had wounded his opponent.

But Obi-Wan looked up at him defiantly and grasped his saber tightly with his good arm. He leapt over Vader's head and attacked. The Jedi's attack surprised Vader, but it was obvious that the wound was weakening the Jedi.

Soon, Vader took advantage of this and kicked out at the Jedi, sending him sprawled out on his back. Vader stood over the now unarmed Jedi, who looked up at him with regret, not fear.

"I had thought you would be a great Jedi, Anakin. But now I see that helping people was not the thing for you. You've chosen evil over good, willingly. Live with that. Let your son live with that," Obi-Wan said, accepting the fact that he was about to die.

Vader stared down at him for a moment, saying nothing. Finally he raised his lightsaber over his head and prepared to gouge his former Master. But he froze again, looking into the Jedi's eyes. He didn't see fear, as he wanted. But instead he saw repentance and acceptance. Obi-Wan wasn't afraid to die, he was just sad that he was going to now.

Vader lowered his saber, but kept it pointed at the fallen Jedi. He looked around at the canyon wall, spotting Padme as she stuck her head out of the little cave to watch the fight. He saw horror on her face, horror and fear for her friend. She looked away from Obi-Wan for a moment to look at Vader. Her eyes showed regret, fear, and sadness. And for the first time in months, Vader felt afraid.

He was afraid that if he killed this man, the woman he still loved would never be able to forgive him. Never be able to look at him again. Could he, Darth Vader of the Sith, live with that?


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Obi-Wan noticed the hesitation in Vader. The Sith had seen Padme, but hadn't finished him off to go after her. Instead he had frozen, the lightsaber still precariously pointed at the Jedi's throat.

Suddenly Vader turned back to Obi-Wan and held out a hand. The Force, tainted with Vader's evil, suddenly swirled around him, holding him in place as he lie. He didn't try to break free of it; he knew that Vader's control of the Force was far beyond him. He could only watch helplessly as Vader slowly made his way over to the face of the cliff, staring up at Padme.

"There's no point in hiding anymore. Come out," Vader commanded.

Padme, knowing how dangerous Vader could be if angered, slowly stuck her head out of the small cave. For a moment, Vader could only stare at her. "You're more beautiful that I remembered," Vader said softly, the mechanical voice unable to portray the love he truly felt.

Padme narrowed her eyes, feeling her own anger rise at his arrogance. "Have you forgotten already? Some husband you turned out to be."

Vader felt his anger rise despite himself. "You think Kenobi would be better?"

"No. I just know that he would have better things to teach our child."

Vader shook his head. "I didn't come for the child. I came for you. You're all that matters."

Padme glared at him, her anger canceling out her fear. "Me? That's not what I heard. You told Obi-Wan that you didn't want me. You just wanted the child I carry."

Vader silently kicked himself for saying that. It had been a spur of the moment comment, meant to anger the Jedi and make him lose his focus. The Sith Lord shook his head and stepped closer to his former wife. "I didn't mean it," he said quietly. "I came for you. You're all that I want."

"What about power, Vader? What about the genocide you've waged against the Jedi?" She looked away.

"I only do what is necessary."

"So you kill all those you once counted as allies? As friends?"

Vader didn't answer, he just turned his head to look at Obi-Wan, who was watching them with a keen interest. It seemed that he too, more than anything, wanted to know exactly what had made Anakin turn. If he died after hearing it, so be it, at least he would die with the knowledge.

"What do you think, Kenobi? What do you think made me turn?"

The Jedi was startled momentarily that the Sith would even ask him. "Well, I believe your arrogance was a major part of it. The death of your mother was only the beginning. You blamed yourself for not being strong enough, then blamed me for holding you back." Obi-Wan turned away for a moment. "I didn't hold you back. Your anger held you back. And the sheer power at which the Force came to you held you back. Thus enters the arrogance."

Vader stared for a moment, then stepped closer to Obi-Wan. The Jedi didn't flinch, but silently prepared himself for death. But instead of killing him, Vader simply reached down and pulled the saber from his grip. He hung it on his belt. "You are dead. I am not to see you again. If I do, I will kill you. I keep this," he patted Obi-Wan's weapon, "as proof for the Emperor that you have been eliminated." He flipped his own lightsaber off and took the bottom off, dumping the crystals onto the ground. He put the cap back on and set it down next to Obi-Wan. 

"Give this to my son when he is old enough. But do not tell him what his father became." Vader paused for a moment. "I don't want him to walk down the same path as me. I don't want him to grow up in dark. I don't even know if he would be allowed to grow up." Vader knelt down and put his mask inches from Kenobi's face. "Watch over him, Kenobi. Keep him safe."

Vader straightened up. He gave Padme one last glance. "Forgive me," he said, then pressed a button on his suit. After a moment, the ship he'd been in earlier reappeared and lowered another rope. The Sith grabbed it, and was slowly pulled back into it.

Obi-Wan watched, still unable to move, as the ship disappeared into the sky. After a moment, the Force-hold Vader had held him in disappeared. He sighed in relief and just lie there for a moment, only vaguely aware of the burning pain in his arm. The next thing he knew, Padme had run down to him and was cradling his head in her arms.

"I thought you were dead. I thought he would kill you," she sobbed, burying her face in his hair. 

He reached up at laid on hand on her hair. "It's alright. He didn't. Not today."

"What made him stop? Why didn't he finish?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I don't know. Something we said, perhaps?" Obi-Wan's eyes fell on Anakin's lightsaber lying next to him. He reached over and picked it up. "I remember when he made this. He was so proud."

"I don't get it, Obi-Wan. If he was trying to erase all evidence of his once being Anakin Skywalker, why would he keep using the same saber?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he was waiting for an opportunity like this. Maybe he wanted it to be passed on to his son." Obi-Wan glanced up at the sky. "But there is still some good in him."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Obi-Wan glanced briefly up at Eritae as she wrapped up the gash on his arm. He smiled and thanked her when she finished, and she excused herself to deal with other matters. Obi-Wan sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which in his opinion, was getting far too long. He stepped up to the window of his room and stared out.

Only the black void of space was there to greet him. After Vader's attack, he and Padme had managed to get into their ship, flying it to the emergency station. Sabe and Eritae were there, having just left the hideout the day before.

Obi-Wan shook his head. _How had Vader found us?_ he wondered to himself. Was there a traitor amongst them, or had he somehow sensed one of them? Or dumb luck? These questions burnt in his mind, but he was unable to come up with any answers.

He sighed and turned to walk out of the small room, but stopped short when he saw Padme in the doorway. She looked at him with an odd expression, as if she was worried. _Why shouldn't she be?_ Obi-Wan thought to himself.

He bowed his head to her. "Padme. Is there something I can do for you?"

She stared at him for a moment. "Yes. You can tell me why you've acted so distant. You've pretended that you were only my servant ever since we got here. Like you're back being a stiff, unloving Jedi."

Obi-Wan stared at her for a moment, having not expected that. "That's the problem."

"What is?"

"That I _do_ love. That is the problem."

She crossed her arms. "And why is that a problem, Obi-Wan?"

He met her eyes, and she was surprised to see tears welling up in them. "I'm afraid to love or have someone love me because I see now how limited my time truly is. Vader will come back for me, and next time he will not be merciful. I represent his past, the Jedi who made him what he is. No doubt he will want to wipe out all of Anakin Skywalker's past from existence."

Padme stepped up to him and put a hand on his arm. "You feel like you are going to die soon, and don't want others to be hurt when it happens?" Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, it's far too late for that. Never, in your whole life, could you have been killed and not have others be hurt. Even as a child, you were surrounded by those who cared for you. The Jedi, your friends, you Master. And now you are still surrounded by people who care about you. They all love you, Obi-Wan. Just at different levels."

Obi-Wan allowed a small smile. "Elaborate, please?"

"Ok then. Take for example Sabe and Eritae. They look up to you, knowing that you saved our planet once before. They also look up to you for risking your life to protect me. And the refugees here, they respect you for not giving up your fight against Vader."

"And yet they blame me for the whole mess in their hearts," Obi-Wan added bitterly, turning away from her and heading towards the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned back to her slowly. "It's you that I'm worried about mostly. You seem to be the one who has grown to love me more than anyone. So you would be the most hurt when my end comes." He shook his head. "I don't wish you that pain."

"So you think you can just walk out on me now? What good will that do, Obi-Wan? So you think that if you hurt me now by abandoning me it will hurt less when you die? Not a chance. It doesn't work that way. You can't tell me that you can't love me and expect me to just forget about all we've shared. I love you, Obi-Wan. I'm not afraid to admit it anymore. Don't you feel the same?"

Obi-Wan stared at her with a pained expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words. "I...I do feel the same. Despite... all I've done, I fell for you. My mind tells me that it is wrong... but my heart would not allow it to stop. And I know that it will pain you when I die, but perhaps it would hurt less if I meant less to you. I now that you love me now, but time, despite all the poems, can lessen the bonds of love." A tear ran down his face. "I hate doing this to you. I hate doing this to myself. But in the long run, I know that it will be easier for you." He closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly left the room. 

Padme stared at the door where he had been for a moment, then grabbed an ornament from a small table. With a cry of rage, she threw it against the wall as hard as she could. The glass sculpture shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, littering the floor.

Sabe rushed into the room and the sound of Padme's cry. "M'lady? Are you alright?" she asked, rushing to her.

Padme began sobbing into her friend's shoulder. "I hate him! How can he be so selfish!" She was silent for a moment. "Why? Why is he doing this to me?"

Sabe patted her on the back supporting. "There there. Everything will turn out right. It always does."

Padme looked up at her with a shocked expression. "How can you say that? Things do not _always_ turn out. Anakin did not just _turn out_ right."

"I know that. Give him time, m'lady. He's afraid now. He believes that his death will be soon, and doesn't want you to feel lost without him."


End file.
